Index guide



Oct. 27, 1925. 1,558,756

J. H. RAND INDEX GUIDE Filed Dec. 2e. i925 Patented oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. RAND, 0F NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO RAND KAR-DEX.

COMIPANY, INC., OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, A ACC!RPORA'ILION OF DELA-WARE.

INDEX GUIDE.

Application led December 26, 1923. n Serial No. 682,646.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that' I, JAMES H. RAND, a ,citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and resident oflNorth Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara andState of New York, have invented new and useful `Improvements in IndexGuides, vof which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to index devices for loose record sheets and morespecifically to means for indexing and spacing such sheets when arrangedin parallel juxtaposed relation as in a file drawer or similarreceptacle.

Objects of the invention are to provide guides or spacers of sufficientrigidity to support loose record sheets in an inclined or uprightposition, to prevent the guides from interfering with the `flexing ofthe tops of such sheets in searching the files, to provide upon theguides an indicator of the character scope or contents of the recordsheets filed between said guides, and in general to improve theapparatus for filing and indexing record sheets and similar' loosepapers.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention one concrete embodimentthereof is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the guides shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a section of the guide shown in Fig. 2.

The embodiment of the invention shown for the purpose of illustrationcomprises an improved guide A adapted to be used for spacing andindexing loose material such as letters or record sheets such as thefolded record sheets frequently used in stores for customers creditaccounts. A typical arrangement is shown in Fig. 1 in which a pluralityof record sheets B are suitably spaced and indexed by aplurality ofguides A, all these parts being assembled in a receptacle, such as a boxor file drawer C, parts of which are broken away to show the arrangementof the members within. To give some stability to the mass of the lettersor record sheets the lower or inner portion e of each of the guides A isrelatively thick, heavy7 and rigid, as compared with the upper or outerportion 5 which is relatively thin and flexible. This flexible portionwhich is toward the open side of the receptacle is useful .in runningthrough the mass of papers in searching for a desired letter or recordsheet and the reduced thickness of this flexible top further serves topartially compensate for the increased bulkiness of the upper portion ofa lile drawer inl which record sheets with folded flaps at the top areused, as for example account sheets having a folded flap carrying thename ofthe customer'.

Guide A. may be constructed inr any manner which will provide therelatively flexible top and the relatively inflexible bottom rThepreferred method of constructing such'fa guide comprises uniting a sheetc of tough but flexible sheet materialsuchas a good grade of paper witha shorter sheet d of thicker, heavier and relatively rigid material suchas cardboard, fiber board, etc. the latter being fastened to the lowerportion of the larger sheet as by cementing the two together so that thelarger sheet 'provides a flexible flap or extension beyond the stiftIportion of the guide. To improve the appearance of the guide the upperportion of sheet cl may be bevelled as indicated at 6 in Fig. 3.

To index the material in drawer C atab 7 is made fast to the top of eachguide A. This tab may comprise a strip of flexible resilient materialsuch as Celluloid folded upon itself and enclosing between its free endsa portion of the upper edge of the guide and made fast thereto in anysuitable manner as by fabric strips 7 Within the sheath formed by thisfolded Celluloid may bevinserted an index strip 8. This strip ispreferably arranged to show the same index indicia upon both sides, theindicia upon the rear side being inverted so that when the top of theguide A is flexed over as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 theindicia will be right side up when viewed from the front of the drawerC. The index strips 8 may be most easily made by marking the indiciatwice in the same order upon one side of a strip of paper of suitablesize and then folding the strip between the indicia and inserting it inthe tab.

From the above it will be evident that the lUO guides A afford effectivemeans for spacing loose sheets of paper such as letters and recordsheets by reason of the relatively rigid lower portion 4, that the sameguides serve to facilitate the locating of any desired letter or recordby the provision of the fiexible top 5 which permits flexing the guidesas well as the letters or record sheets, and that the double-faced indextab with the indicia readable from the front of the file drawer when thetop of the guide is flexed in either direction also facilitates thelocating of the desired letters and records.

I claim:

1. In an index device the combination with a receptacle for recordsheets, of a plurality of guides for spacing said sheets, the portionsof the guides toward the open side of the receptacle being of flexiblematerial and the portions toward the `opposite Side being of relativelystiff material.

2. An index guide for spacing record sheet-s comprising a stifl' portionanda sheet of flexible material fastened to one side of the stiffportionand project-.ing therebeyond, the upper edge of the stiff portionbeing bevelled.

8. An index guide foispacing record sheets characterized in that theupper portion is flexible and the lower portion is relatively stiif, andan index tab on said` flexible portion having the same indicia on bothsides thereof, the indicia on one side being inverted so as to bedisplayed right side up when said flexible portion is bent back.

4. An index guide for spacing record sheets comprising a stiff portionand a. fiexible extension fastened lto the stiff portion, and an indextab onsaid extension having indicia right side up on one side .thereofand upside down on the other side thereof.

5. A spacer for record sheets comprising a relatively stiff sheet havinga flexible extension, said extension being fastened to the upper portionof said'sheet whereby when the spacer is interposed between recordsheet-s the extension may be exed in either direction to facilitate theinspection of adjacent sheets.

6. A spacer for record sheets having a portion of relatively stiffmaterial and a portion'of relatively flexible material connected to-saidstiff portion and extending beyond one end thereof.

V7. rfi spacer for record sheets having a cardboardbase anda flexiblevsheet fastened to said base and extending thereabove whereby when thespacer is placed in a drawer betweenlsheets the extension may be flexedin either direction to facilitate the inspection of adjacent Sheets.

Signed by ine at Boston, Massachusetts, this 18th day of December, 1923.

JAMES H. RAND.

